


Better Safe than Sorry

by Inell



Series: 2017 Prompt Challenge [8]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternative Universe - FBI, Case Fic, FBI Agent Derek Hale, FBI Agent Stiles Stilinski, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hunting a Serial Killer, M/M, Missing Persons, Mutual Pining, Pack is a FBI Team, Pre-Slash, Serial killer case
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-16 22:56:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9293291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inell/pseuds/Inell
Summary: Stiles, Derek, and Isaac check out the area where Paige Krasikeva was likely kidnapped by their perp.Sequel to "Sooner or Later"





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [42hrb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/42hrb/gifts).



> sterekseason said: “Of course I’m right, I’m always right.” with Sterek
> 
> So, I hadn't planned to write a sequel to Sooner or Later, but my muse wanted to revisit this world when she saw this prompt. I hope you don't mind, bb! Also hope you enjoy this!
> 
>  
> 
> Sequel to "[Sooner or Later](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9283529)"

The area where Paige Krasikeva was last seen is a twenty-minute drive from her apartment. It probably takes longer during different times of the day, but there’s no traffic at five in the morning. They’ve just left Raleigh Heights, where they’d gone to speak with her roommate, the one that actually called in the report because Paige isn’t the type to run late without calling. Now, they’re on the way to the place where Paige was likely taken since a patrol unit found her car nearby.

When Derek pulls the Tahoe up to the address Danny texted them, they find a police cruiser parked behind a white Ford Focus. Stiles knows that this is Paige’s car, the one she never arrived at after leaving the music club several blocks over.

“Guys, are we still convinced this is our perp?” Isaac asks curiously. “I mean, we only have her roommate’s word that she’s not a party girl who stays out late, and she hasn’t even been gone more than a few hours.”

“This is our guy,” Stiles says confidently. “I know it’s still early, but this is him. I can feel it.”

“I’m with Stiles on this one. I don’t get the impression that Paige is the type of girl to pick up someone after a night out without checking in with her roommate. Isaac, why don’t you check out the car while we speak with the officer who took the missing person’s call?” Derek suggests before they get out of the Tahoe.

“I’m on it, Boss.” Isaac mock salutes before sliding out of the backseat. He looks at them both. “I trust your instincts, you know? I just didn’t want us rushing and wasting time if we weren’t convinced.”

“There’s still a chance it’s not,” Stiles admits, “but I’d rather waste the time and be wrong than not react and be right.”

“We should be able to rule out foul play easily enough, so it won’t even be much of a waste of time,” Derek points out.

“Can you talk to the cop? I think I want to trace the path she’d have walked from the club to her car,” Stiles says, checking the map that Allison’s sent to his phone. “It’s still dark enough that I can get a feel for what she’d have experienced.”

Derek studies him a moment before looking away. “Fine. Just be careful. I’ll come pick you up at the club, but call me if you find anything.”

“I’m always careful, Derek.” Stiles flashes a smile before he gets out of the car. He nods at the officer who’s approaching them. “Slaughter is that way, right?”

“Yeah, you take a right at the corner, go down two blocks, then take a left.” The cop looks down the dark street then back at Stiles. “I don’t know if you want to walk there on your own, though. This time of night tends to bring out the undesirables, and there’s a lot of homeless kids around.”

“Thanks for the concern, Officer,” Stiles flashes the nameplate, “Ennis, but I should be alright.”

“Your funeral.” Officer Ennis says with a shrug. “The missing girl’s car is here. I didn’t touch it once we located it, but there doesn’t seem to be anything remiss from a visual once over.”

“My colleague is going to search it while we talk about the statements you gathered.” Derek takes the officer towards the patrol car, so Stiles takes that as his cue to start his own process.

The streets are relatively quiet at this hour of the morning. Stiles turns off his flashlight and switches to the one on his phone. If her were a twenty-two year old female who had been out with friends seeing a band and probably drinking, he wouldn’t walking the streets with a flashlight. He’d only have an app, if that. No, the Paige that Emily described sounded intelligent and resourceful. She’d have an app and probably some Mace or something similar. As he walks, he alters his step pattern, slowing down a little, taking smaller steps. Trying to match the pace that Paige would have set.

The band had finished their set before midnight, according to the information Jackson had provided. Despite the rather metal name of the club, the band playing tonight was folk alternative. Stiles doesn’t visualize their perp as someone into folk alt music, so he doesn’t think they need to look too closely at the club. No, their perp ran into her after she left. A chance encounter, a trigger of recognition for whomever the male target happens to be, and Paige didn’t have a chance.

Having that suspicion in mind, he pays particular attention to the other businesses and buildings in the area. The perp was at one of them before his path had crossed Paige’s, but he isn’t seeing anything likely yet. There’s a closed down auto repair shop with store hours closing at seven. A law office, a real estate office, a few businesses with vague names that don’t seem the type to be twenty-four hour. When he sees a rather seedy bar, he stops to take a picture of the sign and forwards it to the team.

It’s a possibility, the sound of country music loud enough to hear from the streets, still open despite the early morning hour. He looks around the rest of the area and just can’t see it. Can’t see this being the place where Paige was taken without anyone noticing. But it’s still a possibility so he lets the team research while he keeps walking.

When he turns the corner, he sees a twenty-four hour diner, the neon coffee cup flickering, and he stops walking. Because that’s it. That’s where the perp was sitting when he saw Paige. It makes more sense than a bar, seeing as there’s huge windows looking out onto the streets. Looking around, he can see several dark alleys, any of them a possible escape route. But if he took Paige here, someone might have seen because there _are_ windows. He scans the street to the right and frowns.

Dialing Allison’s number, he waits for her greeting before he says, “Can you look at the map for me? I need to know if there’s an alternate way to the location of the car if Paige had been walking south on Forest Glen. The cop said the fastest route was down Riverdale then taking a left, but is there another way?”

“I’m checking as we speak. You aren’t finding anything?” Allison is typing, the click clack of the laptop keys audible through the phone.

“I sent you info on a bar, but I just don’t see it as a viable abduction site. Too populated. I’ve found somewhere that I think the perp might have been, but it doesn’t make sense for abduction, either. I honestly think she went a different way than what Officer Ennis suggested as the route I take.”

“Well, it looks like continuing on Forest Glen past Riverdale will take you to a curve that crosses Garden Edge. If you turn right on that one, you’ll go past a short walkway that cuts through to Meadowlark, right near the lot where her car is parked. You might be right about her taking a shortcut because that looks a little closer.”

“Of course I’m right. I’m always right.” Stiles looks at the diner and frowns. “Can you text Derek for me? Tell him to meet me at Sunny’s Diner on Forest Glen. I’m going to grab a coffee and see if I can get some information.”

“Wait. Derek’s not _with_ you?” Allison groans. “Stiles! I told you this one was making my spidey-senses creep. That means sticking together and not wandering off alone.”

“Dude, it’s a few blocks. I’m a big boy, and I don’t need a babysitter.” Stiles looks both ways before crossing the street. “I’d text him, but I don’t want anyone to be suspicious and decide that they shouldn’t talk to me.”

“Is he going to do the cherubic angel routine?” Jackson asks, the phone making some noise before he’s got it from Allison. “Stiles, don’t try pulling off the ‘aw shucks sweet kid’ thing right now. You’re too exhausted and stressed to pull it off. Go for the grad student needing a distraction if you have to talk to potential witnesses.”

“Your faith in my abilities is touching,” Stiles deadpans. “Give Allison her phone back and get to work.”

“Fuck you, too, smartass,” Jackson says before making kissy sounds in the phone.

“I had Lydia text Derek,” Allison says when she has her phone back. “He’s on his way.”

“Of course he is.” Stiles shakes his head. “I’ll check in later.”

After he hangs up, he slips his phone in his pocket and enters the diner. A casual sweep lets him know there are nine patrons, two waitresses, and a cook. The staff are definitely worth talking to, but there’s only two patrons that look like they’ve probably been there longer than an hour. One has a laptop out typing away with a coffee cup and empty plate, and the other is chatting on the phone with a glass of water with nearly melted ice.

“Hey sugar. Just sit wherever you want.” One of the waitresses, Betty according to the blue thread on her uniform, waves to the empty tables. “We’ll be with you in a jiffy.”

“Thanks.” Stiles takes a seat at a table with a good view of the street and his back to the wall. He grabs a menu and bites his lip to keep from frowning at the feel of sticky syrup that’s now covering his fingers. He’s not a neat freak, just slightly OCD, but that’s really gross.

“Do you want some coffee?” Betty asks as she approaches with a steaming pot.

“You’re an angel and a savior,” he tells her in an exaggerated way. “If you’re not already married, I might have to propose.”

Betty laughs. “Well, if I was a few decades younger, I might just have to accept, cutie.”

“This is a nice place. I’m new in town, so it’s my first time here. What’s the best thing to order?” He nods at the menu. “Anything really popular?”

“The pancakes are real popular. I’d suggest the blueberry ones, personally.” Betty smiles. “Steak and eggs are great, too.”

“Hmm. I think I’ll take both. I have a friend joining me soon, and he’s definitely a steak man.” Stiles winks at her before putting the menu up. He wiggles his fingers at her. “Is there a bathroom I can use to wash my hands? Last person who sat here was a bit messy.”

“Oh, goodness. Of course. It’s in the back. I wiped the table down, but I didn’t think about swiping the menus.” Betty grabs the menu and uses a rag to wipe them. “I think the culprit was probably this little boy who got his pancakes all over himself instead of in his belly earlier.”

“Ah. Yeah, kids can be messy.” Stiles nods. It’s one reason amongst many that he doesn’t feel any urges to ever be a parent.

“I’m surprised that the man who sat here between the family and yourself didn’t report it, though. He was here during the rush, so maybe he didn’t want to give me more work to do.”

“I didn’t mean to give you more work. I just don’t like the feeling of sticky on my fingers,” he says, wondering idly if the guy who took Paige had sat at this table or one of the others already taken right now. Six tables had a good view of the window, but all of them had some visibility. Stiles walks back to the bathroom so he can wash his hands and wonders what it is the perp is fixating on this time. Paige didn’t really seem to have any kind of unusual features.

Dark brown hair, brown eyes, slim, rounded face, beauty mark, round nose. He knows it’s not the hair and eyes. That’s window dressing. The thing that has to be there to make whatever feature has captivated the perp see the similarity between her and his male target. Maybe it’s the ears. The photos he saw of Paige all had her hair down, covering her ears. Or maybe the curve of her neck. When dealing with a fanatic, there’s no telling _what_ the trigger is for him.

Stiles finishes washing syrup off his hands and heads back to his table. He checks his phone, surprised that Derek’s not arrived yet. Maybe he decided to wait for Isaac, since it’d be pretty shitty and un-teamlike to leave him with the missing girl’s car and no transportation. Stiles checks his text messages, skimming over the information Danny sent about Smokey’s Bar, only looking up when he hears footsteps approaching the table.

When he looks up, his easy smile fades into a scowl. “What the hell are you doing here, Daehler?”

“A little birdie told me they’d seen you skulking around.” Matt Daehler is on Stiles’ list of least favorite people. A parasite who labels himself a journalist in order to get access to cases that he can then sensationalize for money. “I thought I’d stop by to say hello. It’s been a while, after all. Thought you might have reconsidered my offer. I could make you famous, Stiles.”

“Fuck off.” Stiles glances out the window, counting to ten when he doesn’t see the black Tahoe riding up to save him from this bottom-feeder. “I’ve told you to leave me alone. I was serious about the restraining order if you turn up at any more of my cases.”

“I can feel the love.” Matt smirks. “Your team only gets called in when it’s big news, Stiles. I have a nose for a good story, and I know following you will get me one. Is this about the missing girl? The music student from Reed College? A contact in the police department alerted me to the missing person’s call that somehow attracted the attention of the elite FBI team in town investigating a murder. Imagine my surprise when I realized it was _your_ team.”

“I doubt you were surprised at all, Daehler.” Stiles is bouncing his leg as he glares at Matt. Derek needs to get his ass here before he ends up punching this asshole. He only has so much restraint.

“Well, no, I wasn’t. I followed your little band of suits to town from San Francisco because I knew something big must be going down.” Matt leans across the table. “Is it a serial killer? They do love to have you hunt those down. Using your vast personal experience to locate the monsters.”

Stiles is about to stand up when a hand touches his arm. “Is this man bothering you, sugar?” Betty is standing there giving Matt a dirty look that just makes him grin widely.

“Nah, old woman. I’m not bothering him at all. He and I have this love-hate thing going on.” Matt winks at her. “He just likes playing hard to get.”

“Yes, he _is_ bothering me, actually.” Stiles feels the slight tension in his shoulders start to ease when he sees Derek and Isaac come through the door. Derek is already glaring, nostrils flaring, and he grabs Matt out of the chair before he even realizes they have company.

“What the fuck?” Matt drops his camera. “Damn it, Stiles. Call off your guard dog. We were just having a harmless professional interview, Hale. Let me go or I’ll have you arrested for assault.”

“He’s not worth it, Derek.” Stiles watches Matt’s face, unable to see Derek’s because his back to him, but Matt seems to pale slightly before he leans down to get his camera.

“Fine. I can tell when I’m not welcomed. Stiles, you should look into the band Paige was seeing perform tonight. I was there, you know? I even remember seeing her, but I guess you don’t care about actually solving this case if it means accepting _my_ help. But when you realize you need me, I’ll be willing to make a trade.”

“Get out of here, Daehler. Go find another rock to crawl back under,” Isaac says, stepping between Derek and Matt in a casual way that is anything but casual.

“Fucking Daehler,” Derek curses as he sits down next to Stiles, close enough that their legs are touching. “You okay? We’d have been here sooner, but I wanted to check out some of Officer Ennis’ case notes. He was evasive when answering questions, so I think he’s hiding something.”

“I just want to know why that bastard won’t leave you alone,” Isaac mutters. “I thought we’d got rid of him after the case in Seattle, but he’s like a bad penny.”

“We’ll never get rid of him,” Stiles says, knowing that Matt wants to write his book so badly that he’ll keep pestering until Stiles finally does have to take drastic action.

It’s been on-going for the last three years, since they crossed paths during a case in Idaho and Matt had researched him, found out about his past. Figured out he’s the only survivor of one of the worst serial killers in the US in decades. Wants to exploit the tragedy of Stiles’ childhood for a few minutes of fame, like that’s worth reliving the nightmares that still plague him more often than he cares to admit.

“Yes, we will,” Derek tells him, gripping his forearm and squeezing. “Even if I have to call in a few illegal favors from my damn uncle, he’ll get out of your life eventually.”

“Aww. You’d break the law for me, Derek?” Stiles bats his eyelashes. “My hero.”

Derek huffs a laugh and ducks his head, the tips of his ears turning a deep red. Isaac makes a face, and Stiles sticks his tongue out at him because Isaac’s just jealous that they aren’t impressed by his curls and baby blues. Derek clears his throat. “So, Lydia said you were on to something?”

“Yeah, I think Ennis gave me a different route than Paige actually took. I didn’t want to wander off on my own because I could do without the scolding today.” Stiles shrugs, smiling at Betty when she brings his food out.

“You alright, sugar?” She ruffles his hair. “I didn’t like that guy. He was here earlier, when I first started my shift, and he stiffed me. Took off without paying or even waiting for his food.” She shakes her head. “It was just coffee, in the end, so it wasn’t worth getting into it with him, but I wanted him to know I was watching when he was bothering you.”

“Well, you saved me, sweet lady. That offer for marriage is still open,” he tells her with a wink. She titters at him and goes back to the counter. He looks at Derek and Isaac, who are arguing over the steak and eggs. “One of you can share my pancakes.”

Derek lets Isaac have the steak and leans closer, taking a forkful of pancakes and rubbing it in syrup. “Do you think Daehler actually saw anything?”

“Honestly?” Stiles stares into Derek eyes, getting lost for a moment. “I doubt it. He just wants to trade some random bit of information that’ll be useless in order to get an exclusive because he’s annoying but not stupid. He knows this is a big case, and he wants the rights. I’d be surprised if he was even at Slaughter tonight, especially if he was here when Betty first came on shift.”

“I want to check it out anyway,” Derek says. “See if anyone remembers seeing him at the club. Make sure he isn’t holding out key information in his twisted fascination with you.”

“With my _past_. Not _me_.” Stiles takes a bite and looks out the window. When they finish, they can check the alternate route, see if they can pinpoint where Paige might have been taken. Maybe it’ll give them a much needed break in this damn case. Isaac is talking about what he found in the car, which basically amounts to nothing, and Derek’s eating most of the pancakes but also pushing some towards Stiles to make sure he eats, too.

Glancing at his phone, Stiles types out a quick text to Danny asking him to add the band Paige was seeing to his list of inquiries. Matt’s probably full of shit, but Stiles figures it’s better safe than sorry, especially if could help them find Paige alive.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](http://inell.tumblr.com)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Better Safe than Sorry](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14808848) by [taikodragon (hana_ginkawa)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hana_ginkawa/pseuds/taikodragon)




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